District of Columbia Fencing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
District of Columbia does not publish its fencing class figures online. Across the 26 states that do, the median typical premium is about $3.27 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current District of Columbia figure.
No official District of Columbia figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
District of Columbia class code for fencing
- 6400: Fence Installation and Repair - Metal, Vinyl, Wood or Prefabricated Concrete Panel Fence Installed by Hand & Drivers
- 6217 (Excavation NOC)
- 5403 (Carpentry NOC)
Fence work carries hand tool injury, post-hole digger / auger risks, lifting, and underground utility strike risks. Chain-link work uses cutting tools with finger injury exposure.
What comp costs per fence installer in District of Columbia
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 2,090 construction laborers on payrolls in District of Columbia (May 2025), the 49th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $24.05 an hour, 6% above the US median of $22.66.
This trade is a smaller part of the District of Columbia job market than it is nationally: construction laborers hold 0.42 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $3.27 per $100 of payroll (District of Columbia does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.79 for every hour worked, or $1,636 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $4,907 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. District of Columbia pay runs from $17.88 an hour at the 10th percentile to $34.77 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.58 an hour on a new hire and $1.14 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in District of Columbia
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded by default; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive only if disability continues more than 14 days
The District has an unusually long 14-day threshold before the waiting period becomes retroactively payable.
What moves a fencing comp bill
- Fence erection rates sit above most interior trades because of post-hole augers, heavy material, and power tools. Auger training cuts the most serious claims.
- Fence crews often add decks, gates, or ornamental metal work, and those can rate in different classes. Tell your carrier what share of the work each represents.
- Seasonal crews and day labor are common in fencing. Every worker you pay counts at audit, so keep records for temporary hires.
- If you only sell and subcontract the installs, your own exposure is mostly sales and clerical, but only if every installer carries their own coverage.